One dead after tornado tears through Ontario community

Postmedia News08.22.2011

A tornado is suspected to have touched down in Goderich, Ont., at about 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011, causing widespread damage in the town centre. Shown here is some of the damaged caused by the storm.

GODERICH, Ont. — One person is dead after a powerful tornado struck an Ontario community Sunday, ripping roofs off the tops of houses, shattering windows and uprooting trees.

A state of emergency has been declared and an Environment Canada storm damage team was heading to Goderich Monday to assess the damage from one of the worst storms to hit the town on the shores of Lake Huron in 15 years.

Environment Canada rated the tornado an F3, with winds of up to 250 km/h.

The tornado was identified by Environment Canada only minutes before it touched down at about 4 p.m.

A YouTube video of the town square shows bricks and debris scattered over the street, cars smashed, store windows broken and the exterior wall on the third floor of a building blown out.

Another video shows cars weaving around downed trees and power lines in a residential section of town.

Col. Morris Brause, commanding officer of the Essex and Kent Scottish regiment, was caught in the storm as he drove on Highway 21, heading into Goderich. Brause said the sky darkened very quickly and it began to hail so hard that it was impossible to see the road.

“It was the worst kind of hailstorm,” he said, adding that it reminded him of a scene in the movie Twister.

Brause said he never saw a funnel cloud, but he knew immediately that a tornado touched down. He was able to drive over the bridge that crosses the Maitland River and into the town centre. Brause described the scene as chaotic.

“The downtown has been completely devastated,” Brause said by telephone. “Goderich has been very badly hit.”

The Ontario Provincial Police closed Highway 21 leading into the town centre and the local Knights of Columbus hall was being used as an emergency shelter.

Witnesses to the storm have been posting their accounts on Facebook and Twitter.

One witness said she was still shaking after the storm passed through her yard. “Mass destruction. Goderich is completely shut down. I have no hydro but hear that houses are gone.”

Goderich is about 225 kilometres west of Toronto.

Windsor Star

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One dead after tornado tears through Ontario community

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